Some people who went to space a long time ago are getting older, and there are not many of them left. Buzz Aldrin, who was one of the first people to walk on the Moon, likes to talk about space and has traveled to very cold places on Earth. Another space traveler, Bill Anders, took a famous picture of Earth from space that made many people care about our planet. Charlie Duke walked on the Moon and helped talk to the first people who landed there.

A man named Fred Haise was on a space trip that almost ended very badly because something blew up, but he was okay. James Lovell went to space twice and was going to walk on the Moon, but couldn’t because of the explosion. Now, he is the oldest of these space travelers. Harrison Schmitt went to the Moon and picked up rocks; he also helped make laws. David Scott drove a special car on the Moon, which was pretty cool.

Tom Stafford was the boss of a space trip that tested everything before people first walked on the Moon. He also helped other space travelers learn what to do. These people did amazing things in space a long time ago, and they have done interesting things on Earth too. They are part of history because they traveled farther than anyone else.

Original news source: The last of the Moon men: the stories of the surviving Apollo astronauts (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Give each group a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the groups to read the article together and summarize the main points in a short news report.
4. After a designated amount of time, have each group present their news summary to the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Write the names of the space travelers mentioned in the article on the board.
2. Instruct the students to walk around the classroom and ask their classmates which space traveler they find the most interesting.
3. Have the students record their classmates’ opinions and tally the results.
4. Discuss the results as a class, comparing and contrasting the different opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board.
2. Divide the class into two teams.
3. Call up one student from each team to the front of the class.
4. Give each student a vocabulary word and have them draw a picture to represent the word.
5. The teams must guess the word based on the student’s drawing.
6. The team that guesses correctly earns a point.
7. Continue until all the words have been used or until time runs out.
8. The team with the most points wins.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups.
2. Assign each group a space traveler mentioned in the article.
3. Instruct the groups to discuss and list the pros and cons of being a space traveler.
4. After a designated amount of time, have each group share their lists with the class and facilitate a class discussion about the different perspectives.

– Future Predictions
Instructions:
1. Instruct the students to imagine that they are space travelers in the future.
2. Have them write a short paragraph or give a short presentation about their experience in space and what they think the future of space travel will be like.
3. Encourage the students to use vocabulary and phrases from the article to support their predictions.
4. Allow time for the students to share their paragraphs or presentations with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who was one of the first people to walk on the Moon?
2. What did Bill Anders do in space that made people care about our planet?
3. Who helped talk to the first people who landed on the Moon?
4. What happened to Fred Haise on his space trip?
5. Why couldn’t James Lovell walk on the Moon?
6. What did Harrison Schmitt do on the Moon?
7. What did David Scott drive on the Moon?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Some people who went to space a long time ago are getting older, and there are not (1)______ of them left. Buzz Aldrin, who was one of the first people to walk on the Moon, likes to talk about space and has traveled to very cold (2)______ on (3)______. Another space traveler, Bill Anders, took a famous picture of Earth from space that (4)______ many people care about our planet. Charlie Duke walked on the Moon and helped talk to the first people who landed there.

A man named Fred (5)______ was on a space trip that almost ended very badly because something blew up, but he was okay. James (6)______ went to space twice and was going to walk on the (7)______, but couldn’t because of the explosion. Now, he is the oldest of these space travelers. Harrison Schmitt went to the Moon and picked up rocks; he also helped make (8)______. David Scott (9)______ a special car on the Moon, which was pretty cool.

Tom Stafford was the boss of a space trip that tested everything before (10)______ first walked on the Moon. He also helped other space (11)______ learn what to do. These people did amazing things in space a long time ago, and they have done (12)______ things on Earth too. They are part of history because they traveled farther than anyone else.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a space traveler?
2. How would you feel if you could travel to space?
3. Do you like learning about space? Why or why not?
4. What do you think it would be like to walk on the Moon?
5. How would you feel if you could pick up rocks on the Moon?
6. Do you think it’s important to take care of our planet? Why or why not?
7. What is something cool you have done on Earth?
8. How would you feel if you were the boss of a space trip?
9. Do you think it’s important to learn from history? Why or why not?
10. What is something interesting you have learned about in history?
11. How do you think space travel has changed over time?
12. Do you think it’s possible for people to live on another planet? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. space
2. traveled
3. famous
4. planet
5. explosion
6. oldest
7. picked
8. laws
9. special
10. boss
11. tested
12. history

Meanings:
(A) Having lived the longest
(B) The big area above Earth where the stars and planets are
(C) Not like the others, unusual or better
(D) A big round object that moves around the sun or another star
(E) The person who is in charge
(F) Went from one place to another
(G) Rules that people must follow
(H) Tried something to see if it works or is good
(I) A big, loud bang, usually causing damage
(J) All the things that happened in the past
(K) Very well-known by many people
(L) Chose and took something
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who took a famous picture of Earth from space?
(a) Buzz Aldrin
(b) Bill Anders
(c) Charlie Duke
(d) Fred Haise

2. Who walked on the Moon and helped talk to the first people who landed there?
(a) Charlie Duke
(b) Buzz Aldrin
(c) Fred Haise
(d) Bill Anders

3. Who was on a space trip that almost ended badly because something blew up?
(a) Buzz Aldrin
(b) James Lovell
(c) Fred Haise
(d) Tom Stafford

4. Who is the oldest of these space travelers?
(a) Buzz Aldrin
(b) Fred Haise
(c) James Lovell
(d) Tom Stafford

5. Who went to space twice and was going to walk on the Moon, but couldn’t because of an explosion?
(a) James Lovell
(b) Buzz Aldrin
(c) Fred Haise
(d) David Scott

6. Who went to the Moon and picked up rocks, and also helped make laws?
(a) Buzz Aldrin
(b) Fred Haise
(c) David Scott
(d) Harrison Schmitt

7. Who drove a special car on the Moon?
(a) Buzz Aldrin
(b) Fred Haise
(c) Harrison Schmitt
(d) David Scott

8. Who was the boss of a space trip that tested everything before people first walked on the Moon?
(a) Buzz Aldrin
(b) Tom Stafford
(c) Fred Haise
(d) James Lovell

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. James Lovell went to space twice and was supposed to walk on the Moon, but couldn’t because of an explosion.
2. Fred Haise had a peaceful experience in space when something blew up, but he was okay in the end.
3. Harrison Schmitt never went to the Moon and collected rocks, and he also didn’t help make laws.
4. Charlie Duke never walked on the Moon and didn’t help communicate with the first people who landed there.
5. Buzz Aldrin is one of the few people who have been to space a long time ago and he likes to talk about it.
6. Bill Anders took a famous picture of Earth from space that made people care about our planet.
7. David Scott drove a special car on the Moon, which was really cool.
8. Tom Stafford was not in charge of a space trip that tested everything before people walked on the Moon, and he also didn’t help other astronauts learn what to do.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Who is Buzz Aldrin and what did he do?
2. What did Bill Anders do that made people care about our planet?
3. What happened to Fred Haise on his space trip?
4. Why couldn’t James Lovell walk on the Moon?
5. What did David Scott do on the Moon that was cool?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who was one of the first people to walk on the Moon?
Buzz Aldrin.

2. What did Bill Anders do in space that made people care about our planet?
He took a famous picture of Earth from space.

3. Who helped talk to the first people who landed on the Moon?
Charlie Duke.

4. What happened to Fred Haise on his space trip?
Something blew up, but he was okay.

5. Why couldn’t James Lovell walk on the Moon?
There was an explosion, so he couldn’t go.

6. What did Harrison Schmitt do on the Moon?
He picked up rocks and helped make laws.

7. What did David Scott drive on the Moon?
He drove a special car on the Moon.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) many
(2) places
(3) Earth
(4) made
(5) Haise
(6) Lovell
(7) Moon
(8) laws
(9) drove
(10) people
(11) travelers
(12) interesting
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. space
Answer: (B) The big area above Earth where the stars and planets are

2. traveled
Answer: (F) Went from one place to another

3. famous
Answer: (K) Very well-known by many people

4. planet
Answer: (D) A big round object that moves around the sun or another star

5. explosion
Answer: (I) A big, loud bang, usually causing damage

6. oldest
Answer: (A) Having lived the longest

7. picked
Answer: (L) Chose and took something

8. laws
Answer: (G) Rules that people must follow

9. special
Answer: (C) Not like the others, unusual or better

10. boss
Answer: (E) The person who is in charge

11. tested
Answer: (H) Tried something to see if it works or is good

12. history
Answer: (J) All the things that happened in the past
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who took a famous picture of Earth from space?
Answer: (b) Bill Anders

2. Who walked on the Moon and helped talk to the first people who landed there?
Answer: (a) Charlie Duke

3. Who was on a space trip that almost ended badly because something blew up?
Answer: (c) Fred Haise

4. Who is the oldest of these space travelers?
Answer: (c) James Lovell

5. Who went to space twice and was going to walk on the Moon, but couldn’t because of an explosion?
Answer: (a) James Lovell

6. Who went to the Moon and picked up rocks, and also helped make laws?
Answer: (d) Harrison Schmitt

7. Who drove a special car on the Moon?
Answer: (d) David Scott

8. Who was the boss of a space trip that tested everything before people first walked on the Moon?
Answer: (b) Tom Stafford
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. James Lovell went to space twice and was supposed to walk on the Moon, but couldn’t because of an explosion. (Answer: True)
2. Fred Haise had a peaceful experience in space when something blew up, but he was okay in the end. (Answer: False)
3. Harrison Schmitt never went to the Moon and collected rocks, and he also didn’t help make laws. (Answer: False)
4. Charlie Duke never walked on the Moon and didn’t help communicate with the first people who landed there. (Answer: False)
5. Buzz Aldrin is one of the few people who have been to space a long time ago and he likes to talk about it. (Answer: True)
6. Bill Anders took a famous picture of Earth from space that made people care about our planet. (Answer: True)
7. David Scott drove a special car on the Moon, which was really cool. (Answer: True)
8. Tom Stafford was not in charge of a space trip that tested everything before people walked on the Moon, and he also didn’t help other astronauts learn what to do. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧